My analysis of Amazon’s Mayday button has several tangents, all of which have implications for your contact center. Today, you’re not likely offering a 15 second response time or video-based support, and I’m not here to say you have to. What’s more important is to understand why Amazon is doing these things and then recognize how they may apply to your business. Not only that, but also to see where they will have value for your customers. Even if just for a segment of your customers, this could prove very worthwhile in adopting some of what Amazon is doing.

How video adds value to Mayday

In my last post, I examined why Amazon is providing Mayday for free, and now I’ll discuss why they’re making this service video-based. Let me first reiterate some basic detail so you have the proper context for the analysis. The Mayday button feature is embedded with Amazon’s new Kindle tablet, so it’s been designed specifically to support this product launch. This alone makes it unique, and if successful, could become a new way for businesses to differentiate their products. For contact center decision-makers, this opens up some new possibilities, especially for becoming more strategically involved with marketing and sales teams. Given how pervasive mobile broadband is now, it wouldn’t be surprising to see this type of service offered on other mobile devices.

Aside from Mayday tech support being free, it’s done via video. I’ve already discussed the one-way aspect of the service, which takes away the anxiety for customers being concerned about how they look on camera. Arguably, Mayday’s 15 second response promise would be just as impressive if it was a phone call, but ultimately, that doesn’t get the job done.

When developing a solution to the problem, you have to work backwards from the pain point to those best able to help. In the case of the Kindle, Amazon knows that most of the problems will have to do with basic navigation, using the touchscreen, moving files around, etc. As noted earlier, Amazon also knows that being a mass market device many Kindle buyers will have average tech savvy skills at best. This means a lot of their problems will be fairly routine and easily solved by well-trained agents.

Of course, this presumes the product is not inherently flawed, in which case they will be overwhelmed with help calls that should not be happening. There is no shortage of examples where even the biggest tech players have rushed products to market too soon just to hit a deadline. Since these glitches are unexpected or unanticipated, their contact centers are flooded with panic calls from customers, and since they’re not prepared to properly respond, the fallout can be substantial.

Given Amazon’s track record, it’s fair to say they’ve done their homework to ensure this doesn’t happen with Kindle. No doubt they have crunched the numbers to justify the investment in supporting Mayday based on expected call volumes – and they just as certainly have a sense how costly things would get if this level of service was also provided to solve problems that are of their own making.

So far, I’ve really only touched on one aspect of video for Mayday – its one-way nature. This should make the experience more palatable than two-way video, and in that regard, Amazon knows their audience. Video is a very engaging medium, especially when both parties are comfortable with the technology. However, in this case, Amazon’s agents don’t really need to see the customer to do their work, and that’s actually a key reason why they can offer a 15 second response time. The problem isn’t with the customer, it’s with the device, and the value of video is quite subtle.

Since the agent is a stranger, and he/her is fixing a problem on the customer’s device, being able to see the agent goes a long way to building trust. While much of the information exchange could just as easily be done by voice, it’s more anonymous this way, making it harder to establish the comfort level necessary to get the job done quickly.

Trust aside, the nature of “the job” is really the driver for video, and when that’s explained, it will be even more apparent why Amazon’s Mayday service is video-based. Hold that thought, and I’ll complete the “why video” analysis in my next post in this series.

About the Author

Jon Arnold is Principal of J Arnold & Associates, an independent telecom analyst and strategy consultancy based in Toronto, Ontario. The consultancy’s primary focus is providing thought leadership and go-to-market counsel regarding IP communications and disruptive technologies. You follow Jon's everyday insights on his blog and on Twitter.